Strange Ways
by itsclowreedsfault
Summary: "What are you doing here?" Bakugou said, forgoing greetings and looking at Todoroki with suspicion. "I'm leaving on a two-week long work trip tomorrow," Todoroki said, his expression remaining neutral. Bakugou was about to say he couldn't care less when he continued, "Can you take care of my cat during that time?" - ON HIATUS


Written for the BakuTodo Week event on Tumblr. Prompt: AU.

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People rarely visited Bakugou in his apartment.

Not many knew where he lived and, out of those who did, only Kaminari and Kirishima ever showed up unannounced. Still, their visits were rare, since they usually led to Bakugou getting pissed and yelling at them for _not even fucking calling before showing up,_ and it was always quite a while before he finally let them inside.

That's why, when his doorbell rang on a Friday night, Bakugou cursed his friends out loud before even checking to see who was at the door. He'd just finished heating up his dinner and was not in the mood to be around their loud, cheery selves while he ate.

He strode to the living room, yanking the door open and preparing himself to send the two back to their own goddamn houses.

"You fuckers better go a-"

"Hello, Bakugou."

Bakugou's sentence was abruptly cut off when he was faced with not Kaminari and Kirishima, but Todoroki Shouto.

Todoroki _fucking_ Shouto, who lived in the apartment across from his, who he'd gone to school with, and who had never had a reason to ring his doorbell on a Friday night - or on any night, for that matter - before.

"What are you doing here?" Bakugou said, forgoing greetings and looking at Todoroki with suspicion.

"I'm leaving on a two-week long work trip tomorrow," Todoroki said, his expression remaining neutral. Bakugou was about to say he couldn't care less when he continued, "Can you take care of my cat during that time?"

Maybe it was the absurdity of the situation, but Todoroki's words didn't immediately register in Bakugou's mind.

"What?" he blurted out, moments before his brain caught up with his mouth. "What the fuck, Half-and-Half, why would I agree to take care of your damn cat?"

Other than a slight narrowing of his eyes, Todoroki didn't comment on Bakugou's use of the same nickname he'd given him in high school. Which was, as a matter of fact, the last time they'd had any kind of significant interaction, even though they'd ended up living in the same building, Bakugou hadn't exchanged more than a couple of words with Todoroki ever since they'd graduated over five years ago and gone to different universities. Even back then, they were never exactly friends, which only made Todoroki's sudden visit all the more awkward.

Not that Todoroki seemed to realize that, Bakugou noticed with annoyance.

"Cats are very sensitive to changes. Having her stay at the apartment across from mine would be the less stressful option, since she wouldn't have to go through a long car ride on top of the environment change," he said. He was silent for a moment and then added, almost as an afterthought, "Besides, everyone else I know is too busy."

Bakugou gritted his teeth, getting more and more tempted to slam the door on Todoroki's face with every passing second. His intentions must have showed on his face, because Todoroki quickly added,

"I'll owe you."

"What fucking good would that be?" Bakugou replied, already starting to close the door. "Now get the fuck off my doorstep, I've got better things to do."

At the last minute, Todoroki's hand got between the door and its frame, and it was only thanks to Bakugou's quick reflexes that it didn't break his fingers.

"Are you fucking stupid-"

"Please."

Bakugou froze, staring at Todoroki with wide eyes and wondering if he'd heard wrong. Todoroki sounded actually _concerned_ about his refusal and his face was, for once, not the stoic one Bakugou was used to. If someone had told him, he'd never believe the other would be showing so much emotion because of a simple cat.

He must have stood long enough without trying to close the door again, because Todoroki slowly eased back his hand.

"Please. I'll-"

"Fine! Fine, damn it, I'll do it," Bakugou cut Todoroki off before he could finish, already tired of dealing with his stubbornness. "Fuck, you're still as annoying as you were in high school."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, whatever," Bakugou said, trying not to dwell on the fact that Todoroki Shouto had just _thanked_ him. "What time will you bring it?"

" _Her_ , not _it_. Around 4pm, I have to leave for my flight after that. Is that time good for you?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. See you tomorrow, then." Todoroki gave him a short nod, and Bakugou gaped as he walked to his apartment across the hall, entering it without another word.

Bakugou was still trying to process the strangeness of the whole encounter when he finally closed his own door.

"Why the fuck did I agree to this," he muttered to himself, shaking his head and heading back to the kitchen. His dinner had gotten cold again, he realized, cursing Todoroki in his mind.

As he set the timer on the microwave, he wondered if he should look up some websites on how to take care of a cat.

At exactly four o'clock the following afternoon, Todoroki was once again at Bakugou's door, this time holding a ridiculous number of cat-related items in his arms.

Bakugou watched in disbelief as Todoroki entered his apartment, depositing the items on the floor next to the entrance and listing them off as he put them down.

"These are some of her favorite toys. She's not very active, but if she wants to play you can just give these to her. This is the litter box; I'd recommend you clean it at least once every day. And these are her food and water bowls, you have to give her-"

"I know how to take care of a damn cat, Half-and-Half," Bakugou cut him off. While until not long ago that would've been a lie, he'd spent quite some time reading about cat habits the previous night - not that he'd ever admit that to Todoroki - and he was pretty confident of his newly acquired knowledge. "So, where is she?"

"I couldn't exactly carry her along with all these things," Todoroki said, sounding a little exasperated. Bakugou opened his mouth to reply but closed it; unfortunately, Todoroki's answer _was_ really obvious. "I'll go get her now."

While Bakugou waited for Todoroki to bring the cat, he curiously sifted through the stuff he'd brought, noticing there were a lot of small rat-shaped toys which made an annoying noise when he picked them up, and something that looked like a stick with a bunch of feathers on top. He was examining a strange circular object made of plastic with a ball stuck inside it, trying to figure out how it worked when Todoroki returned, and his attention went to the black and white cat he held in his arms.

"This is Chibi," Todoroki said.

Bakugou snorted, not even trying to stiffle a laugh.

"You named your cat _Chibi_?" he asked, staring incredulously at the definitely-not-small ball of fur.

"Yeah, I did," Todoroki said matter-of-factly, his stare shooting daggers at Bakugou. Despite his obvious annoyance at Bakugou's teasing, he still waited patiently for the other to stop laughing. Then, he extended the cat towards him.

Bakugou stared at him in confusion for a moment before realizing Todoroki was waiting for him to pick her up.

"Don't worry, she's pretty calm."

Bakugou scoffed - like he'd be afraid of a _cat_ \- and tried to awkwardly fit his hands around her, which was difficult with Todoroki's own arms in the way. It didn't help that the cat - _Chibi_ \- didn't seem all that happy to be leaving her owner's arms; while she didn't bite or scratch them, she still stuck her claws to Todoroki's shirt, letting out a faint meow.

"Chibi, let go," Todoroki said, carefully disentangling the cat from his clothes.

After some struggling, Chibi was finally secure in Bakugou's arms. She was even heavier than he anticipated, but her fur was soft, lightly tickling his skin as he moved to a position where he could hold her better and restrain her from trying to jump back towards Todoroki.

"I'll come pick her up as soon as I come back."

"'Kay."

"Bye, Chibi," Todoroki said, leaning forward to scratch behind the cat's ears one last time. To Bakugou's amusement, his voice raised in pitch, like the way people would usually talk to a baby. Bakugou almost started laughing again, but was taken aback by the rather sad expression on Todoroki's face.

"It's just two weeks, Half-and-Half, it's not like I'm gonna steal your cat or some shit," he said, not sure how to deal with the unexpected situation.

Todoroki started, as if Bakugou's words had caught him by surprise. His expression quickly went back to being neutral as he stopped petting Chibi, instead searching for something in his pockets.

"I almost forgot." He took out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Bakugou, who barely managed to hold it between his fingers due to his hands being mostly occupied with the cat.

"What is this?"

"My number," Todoroki explained. "In case something happens."

"Nothing _will_ happen," Bakugou said, but still tightened his grip on the paper to keep it from slipping. "I bet she'll like me taking care of her so much she'll be sad to see your idiot face again when you come back."

"We'll see about that." Bakugou could've sworn he saw the beginning of smile on Todoroki's face, but it was gone in a second, and he was left wondering if he had imagined it. "I'll be going, then. Thanks again for agreeing to take care of Chibi."

"Yeah, you've said that already. Now go because my arms fucking hurt."

After Todoroki left, Bakugou finally put Chibi down, making sure to close the door first so she wouldn't escape. The moment her paws touched the floor, she started looking around curiously, sniffing everything within her reach.

"Okay, it's just you and me now, cat. You better behave, you hear me," Bakugou said, but Chibi merely blinked her wide green eyes at him once before continuing her exploration of the room. Bakugou let out a huff; figures that the cat would ignore him just like her owner used to do when they were in the same class.

Bakugou filled her bowls with water and the cat food Todoroki had brought and placed them in the kitchen, then put her litter box on a corner of the laundry room before deeming he'd done enough; the cat would find her way around the house eventually. He took one last look at Chibi, who was trying to squeeze herself under his couch, and then went to get his laptop, wondering why he hadn't seen anything online about cats being so weird.

Apparently, the websites had forgotten to mention about cats being annoying as hell, too.

Bakugou took a deep breath to try and calm down, gritting his teeth when Chibi meowed, _again_. It was nighttime already, and while for the first few hours of being in his apartment she had busied herself exploring it, soon she had taken to wandering around the living room and meowing repeatedly.

Bakugou racked his brain for possible reasons for this, trying to remember if he'd read anything about it. She didn't look sick, the meowing hadn't started right away so it probably wasn't the apartment, he was in the same room as her so she wasn't alone. She could be missing Todoroki, but there was nothing he could do about _that_.

The only other reason he could think of was food, but her bowl was full, and he was pretty sure she'd ventured into the kitchen several times already. Nevertheless, she kept meowing, and Bakugou was losing his patience, the beginnings of a headache forming at the back of his skull.

When he couldn't take it anymore, Bakugou got up from the couch, setting his laptop aside with an angry huff. Chibi immediately ran towards him, and he almost tripped over her on his way to the kitchen.

"Here," he said, stopping right next to the bowl of food. "It's fucking full, can't you see it, damn it?"

Chibi meowed.

"For fuck's sake." Bakugou picked up the bowl, shaking it so the noise would make it clear that there was food inside, wondering if maybe the cat was a little blind and Todoroki hadn't told him.

He had barely set it down when Chibi started eating, wolfing down the food like she was starving.

Bakugou watched in disbelief.

"Dumb cat," he mumbled. At least he would finally have some peace and quiet now that she was eating.

His relief was short lived, however, because as soon as Bakugou set foot back in the living room, Chibi stopped her meal, instead running after him until she could rub against his legs, meowing once again.

"The fuck do you want now?" Bakugou asked. He knew she didn't actually understand him, but Chibi took a few steps towards the kitchen and looked back at him, as if beckoning him to follow her. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

As soon as they were both back in the kitchen, Chibi resumed eating, leaving a very annoyed Bakugou staring at her from his spot near the door.

"It _had_ to be Half-and-Half's cat," he grumbled, moving towards the fridge to look for something to eat. Since he might have to wait for a while anyway, he might as well fix himself some dinner - there were still some leftovers he could easily heat up.

He sat down with a now steaming bowl of ramen and fished his phone out of his pocket, scrolling until he found Todoroki's number. Despite what Bakugou had said to him, he'd begrudgingly added it to the contacts list earlier that day.

 _y the fuck didnt u tell me ur cat was so picky abt eating_

He typed the message and pressed send before starting to eat. Not long after, his phone buzzed, the screen lighting up with a reply.

 **Half-and-Half:** _What do you mean?_

 _she wont_ _fucking_ _eat unless im in the kitchen w/ her_

 _i had to basically shove the bowl in her face_

 **Half-and-Half:** _I really hope you're not mistreating her, Bakugou, or you'll regret it._

Bakugou nearly bit the hashi as he read Todoroki's message.

 _shut up idiot y would i hurt ur cat_

 _and whats w/ all the proper writing ur such a nerd_

 **Half-and-Half:** _Honestly, Bakugou, what are you, 5?_

 **Half-and-Half:** _But that's strange. Chibi usually doesn't have trouble eating on her own._

Bakugou was astonished with how much Todoroki managed to piss him off even through text. He quickly sent a message containing every possible insult he could remember, for no reason other than to spite him; maybe he was only giving truth to Todoroki's words with the gesture, but he couldn't care less.

 _anyway ur cat is weird_

 **Half-and-Half:** _But she did eat, right?_

The fact that Todoroki had completely ignored his first message didn't go unnoticed by Bakugou, but he decided not to push it and stick to the matter at hand. When he raised his head, he noticed that Chibi _had_ in fact finished eating, and was now busy licking herself.

 _yeah after i stayed w/ her the whole fucking time_

 _you better be really fucking thankful bc im doing u a huge favor_

 **Half-and-Half:** _Thank you :)_

Bakugou stared at the smiley face, feeling like it was taunting him somehow.

 _r u being sarcastic_

For several minutes, Bakugou waited, but there was no response.

 _answer me damn it_

Nothing.

 _FUCK YOU_

Bakugou all but threw his phone on the table, wishing Todoroki was home just so he could go across the hall and scream at him in person. Still fuming, he put the dirty dishes in the sink and went back to the living room, not even bothering to take his phone with him.

The rest of the night went by quietly, with Chibi being entertained by some of her toys while Bakugou finished some reports for work; he'd postponed the tedious job for long enough, but he had to go through with it at some point. It was already nearing 2am when he finally turned off his computer, rubbing his tired eyes as he got up to head to his bedroom.

Immediately, Chibi let go of her toys and started following him. Bakugou had to hold her back with his foot in order to keep her from getting inside his room, ignoring the pleading eyes she raised at him.

"Hell no, you sleep in the living room," he said, finally managing to close the door.

He almost expected her to start meowing again, but she didn't. Instead, after Bakugou had already laid down and was nearly falling asleep, Chibi apparently decided that if he wasn't going to let her in, she was going to keep asking.

By scratching the door repeatedly.

Bakugou groaned, pulling the pillow over his head in an attempt to muffle the sound.

" _Stupid fucking cat_ ," he hissed, but refused to get up; he would notgive in to the cat's demands _again_. He wondered how many other annoying habits the cat had that Bakugou hadn't been told of.

His last thought before he finally fell asleep after nearly an hour of tossing and turning was that he was going to kill Todoroki Shouto.

When Bakugou got out of his room the following morning, he found Chibi asleep in front of the door, where she'd probably settled at some point during the night. She immediately started meowing and rubbing against his legs when she saw him, and while Bakugou was still angry at her for keeping him awake, he scratched behind her ears a few times before heading to the kitchen.

Despite Bakugou's previous worries, the day went by without any incidents. Chibi ate while he prepared his own meals, so she didn't bother him during the rest of the time. In fact, Bakugou realized, Todoroki had been telling the truth when he said she was pretty calm - she spent most of the day sleeping next to him on the couch, and he found himself absently petting her every once in a while.

As for Todoroki himself, he'd finally answered Bakugou's texts, claiming there was no need to get so worked up over a joke and asking how Chibi was doing. Bakugou ignored him for a few hours before replying with a photo of the cat.

Night arrived once again, and the same routine as the previous day repeated itself, with Bakugou trying to keep Chibi out of his bedroom. This time, however, she seemed even more intent on getting inside, her calm demeanor gone as she scratched furiously at the door, letting out soft mewls now and then.

He could've tried to ignore her - she'd certainly get tired eventually - but it was Sunday, and he had to wake up early the following morning. Cursing, Bakugou got up, opening the door and watching as Chibi all but ran inside, making a beeline for his bed and settling on top of it.

The room soon was filled with the sound of her purring, and she leaned her weight against Bakugou's leg once he'd gotten under the covers again. Squinting to see her through the darkness, Bakugou couldn't help but think that Chibi looked pretty satisfied with herself, a short laugh escaping his mouth before he finally closed his eyes.

During the following two weeks, Bakugou and Chibi developed a _camaraderie_ of sorts. She'd keep him company after he came back from work, following him around the apartment like a shadow - a very fat, fluffy shadow. Bakugou got used to her presence in the kitchen while he ate and in his bedroom while he slept; he even played with her a few times, watching as she chased the rat toys and laughing at her futile attempts at recovering them when she accidentally got them stuck under the furniture.

Todoroki was constantly asking him for updates, so Bakugou found himself texting him every day, sending pictures of Chibi and complaining about her bad habit of trying to climb on his laptop or sitting in front of the TV. He was surprised to realize that talking to Todoroki could be almost fun; he'd once suggested calling Bakugou so he could be put on speaker to talk to Chibi, and Bakugou couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed so much as he typed his reply.

 _what kind of stupid idea is that_

 _r u sure u know shes a cat and not a dog_

Todoroki ignored him again for a while after that.

Finally, the day Todoroki would come back from his trip arrived. Chibi was asleep on the couch when the doorbell rang, merely blinking when Bakugou went to the door.

Todoroki really looked like he'd just arrived, still clad in a suit wrinkled from the flight. Across the hall, the door to his apartment was wide open, and Bakugou could see his suitcase left near the entrance.

"Hey, Half-and-Half," Bakugou greeted.

"I have a name, Bakugou," Todoroki said. Bakugou supposed that, now that he didn't have any favors to ask, he wasn't so willing to overlook the use of his nickname.

Not that Bakugou cared, and he made sure to show that in his expression. Todoroki sighed.

"Did these two weeks go by okay? How's Chibi?"

"You talk as if I haven't been sending you updates on her every fucking move," Bakugou said, but still leaned away from the door so Todoroki could see the cat curled up on the couch. "She's fine."

Todoroki's expression immediately softened at the sight.

"Thanks for taking care of her."

"Yeah, whatever. It was a pain."

"From your texts, I'd say you had fun."

"Shut up, idiot, then you don't fucking know how to read." Bakugou went to get the bag where he'd stashed Chibi's things, hoping Todoroki wouldn't notice the way his cheeks were heating up. Chibi really hadn't been that bad, and Bakugou might have had some fun during the past couple of weeks - and _maybe_ exchanging updates with Todoroki had had some part in that - but he was never going to admit it out loud. "Here's her stuff."

"Thanks," Todoroki said, taking the bag from Bakugou's hands. "I'll just drop this at the apartment first."

When Todoroki had his back safely to him, Bakugou went to the couch, picking Chibi up with little resistance from her. He scratched her head, the now familiar purr reaching his ears at the movement, and only stopped when Todoroki got into his line of sight again.

"Hey, Chibi," Todoroki said to the cat when Bakugou passed her to his arms. Though she let out a soft meow, she didn't struggle, probably recognizing her owner's voice since her purring got even louder when Todoroki held her. "How have you been, girl?"

Bakugou snorted, wondering if Todoroki really wasn't confusing his cat with a dog. He looked happy, however, a rare smile still on his face when he turned to look at Bakugou once more.

"Thanks again, Bakugou, really," he said. There was so much sincerity in his voice that Bakugou shuffled on his feet, unsure of how to respond.

"Hm. No problem. I guess."

After Todoroki left, Bakugou couldn't help but notice it felt strange to be alone again after two weeks.

Back at his apartment, Todoroki put Chibi down, laughing as she purred and rubbed against his legs.

"Was it too hard to deal with Bakugou, Chibi?" he asked her. When he'd left on his trip, he was a bit worried about having Bakugou take care of her, but Todoroki was relieved to see she'd adapted well. Besides, despite the other's claims, he was sure Bakugou had enjoyed her company.

Todoroki brought his suitcase to his room, tired but knowing it was best to unpack now rather than leave it for later. Chibi trailed after him, meowing repeatedly and nearly making him trip in the process.

"What is it, Chibi?" She meowed, louder this time. "You want food?"

Todoroki went back to where he'd left her things, sifting through the bag until he found her water and food bowls. Filling them, he put them on the floor in front of her, but after a few seconds of sniffing Chibi looked back at him, meowing again. Todoroki frowned, but figured she must still be a little disoriented after spending two weeks in a different place. Bakugou _had_ mentioned she'd acted weird at first too, after all.

Shrugging, he went back to unpacking his stuff, and after a while Chibi entered his room, finally settling down on his bed.

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This fic is also part of a collab with the wonderful dontblamelys from Tumblr! You can find the links to the amazing art she made for this chapter on my profile

As weird as it sounds, everything Chibi does in this fic is verified cat behavior™, since it was based on how my three cats act (and her appearance is fully based on my cat Tíffany that passed away a couple of years ago )

Like Wandering Wolf, this was also supposed to be a one-shot, but when I started writing down my plans for it I suddenly realized my outline alone already had 3k+ words and I wasn't even done with 1/3 of the fic orz so multichapter it is haha

I hope you guys are enjoying my contributions to BakuTodo Week so far - and there's three days left, so there's still a lot more to come!


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